A few of you who have been reading between the lines of my blog know that I have been doing some reflecting (with the help of Calgary CRC church-planter John Van Sloten's book The Day Metallica Came to Church) on the reality of God speaking to us through two books - the Book of Scripture and the Book of Creation. Well, the other day we 'read' a passage from the Book of Creation and nearly fell off our seats.
First, by way of Scripture, Revelation 3, God is warning Laodicea, one of the seven churches of Asia Minor, that they have been 'lukewarm' and God is ready to spit (actually the Greek is translatable as 'vomit' so it is no minor annoyance). Now, in our culture, we think of lukewarm as 'halfway' or 'not quite passionate about.' But God isn't ready to spit, like some locker-room coach about the Laodiceans lukewarmness just because he wants them to heat it up a notch, he actually says, "I wish you were one or the other - hot or cold!" What God is saying is that it does them no good to be middle ground, they need to make a choice on how they live out their faith. And Laodicea, and the town that it was, knew what it was to be neither hot or cold.
Laodicea was halfway between Colossae (famous for their cool refreshing springs) and the hot springs of Hierapolis. Now, I have preached on this, more than once. The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary does a great (and pictoral!) job of laying this out. This past Thursday, I had the incredible privilege of seeing the warm springs of Hierapolis and getting an overwhelming sense of what God was saying to Laodicea.
We took a bus from Selcuk, just outside Ephesus, Turkey, beginning around 9am. On the bus, we met a wonderful couple from Calgary, Dave and LoriLynn, and their friends Eric and Erna who warmly welcomed us into their friendship for the day. Carol and I remarked about that if we lived in the same town, we would certainly be friends. Dave and LoriLynn told us about their faith and their church and their desire to know God at a deeper level. Since I was just finishing a book by a Calgary CRC church-planter, I recommended his church and book to them. You see, Dave and LoriLynn are photographers, and one of the things VanSloten does well is connect with people who are trying to connect with God on any level, particularly through arts and culture. As I listened to Dave talk about light in photography and how he and his photography friends could be mesmerized by a simply garbage can because of the way the light might be hitting it, I knew that Dave had allowed God to train his sight in a way that I hadn't even considered. So I turned it into a prayer, and asked God to show me something of what I wouldn't naturally see on my own.
After nearly three hours on the bus, we were in the incredible little town of Pamukkale, which is in fact, Hierapolis. Actually, its not so much the town that is incredible as much as what the town looks up at: the "Cotton Castle."
An entire mountainside COVERED with calcified pools created by the springs of warm calcium-rich water which flows from the top of the mountain. Originally, Hierapolis was at the top of the mountain and a stroll through the ruins of the old town is the first part of the tour, but the overwhelming highlight is seeing and experiencing the hot pools. Where you see me standing ankle deep is our first encounter with the pools. Our new photographer friends were having a heyday with their cameras, especially, I think, because the cloud cover provided a certain kind of light. Carol and I just started wading around, feeling odd and awed that our feet were encountering warm water up on this mountain and that it was all naturally occurring.
After some time in these shallower pools, we toured more of the ruins and then saw the hot baths - again all naturally occurring - that we could swim in for 20 Euro per person. We opted to watch, but when the opportunity to take part in a second locally occurring natural phenomenon -- Garra Rufa fish -- we didn't hold back. These fish, which only live in naturally occurring hot water springs in Turkey, are little suckers. They are naturally predisposed to eat the dead skin of people. For just 15 Euro for both Carol and I, we had the opportunity to put our feet in a large Garra Rufa tank while the fish took a ten-minute snack of all the dead skin on our feet and ankles.
When the fish are biting, biting your ankles that is, you have some time to think. God is incredible to have made both these phenomena - the Garra Rufa fish and the Cotton Castle - the micro and the macro, and put them together.
After our fish trip, we headed back to the cotton castle, this time to experience it more fully and hang out in some of the deeper pools. Here are some pictures, but believe me they don't do it justice.
And somewhere around when I was watching and listening - it occurred to me. This was a worship service.
All the traditional markers: a sense of preparation as park staff made certain we removed our shoes before entering; a sense of awe as people were mostly respectfully silent while others adventured; there were people of every trible, tongue, nation and languge present. All ages were represented. People were caught up in the beauty of the place. The was a reverential awe and nearly the only sound was that of laughter and excitement. There was even a moment of "is that allowed in here (church)" when a dog was running through the place.
Scripture, in Revelation, describes heaven as a place of awe and wonder. A place where every tribe, nation, people and language will be in wonder together. That there would be no temple because God himself would be there. And, that there would be a river running through it.
The pictures again don't do it justice, but if you could imagine this gush of hot water coming out of the top of the mountain and creating this, you'd have something of the picture. It was truly incredible.
I've had cool water from a spring before and it is refreshing, and also of God. But on this day, I came to understand a little more about what God was saying to the Laodiceans. They knew about cool springs (like Colossae) just like you and I do. And they lived in the shadow of the Cotton Castle white hills of Pamukkale, or Hierapolis or "Holy City". They knew that that the cold springs from below and the hot springs from above were both gifts from God. And they were simply being urged to make sure that -- hot or cold -- their deeds were lined up with what God was doing in the world.
Another great reminder for us today.
First, by way of Scripture, Revelation 3, God is warning Laodicea, one of the seven churches of Asia Minor, that they have been 'lukewarm' and God is ready to spit (actually the Greek is translatable as 'vomit' so it is no minor annoyance). Now, in our culture, we think of lukewarm as 'halfway' or 'not quite passionate about.' But God isn't ready to spit, like some locker-room coach about the Laodiceans lukewarmness just because he wants them to heat it up a notch, he actually says, "I wish you were one or the other - hot or cold!" What God is saying is that it does them no good to be middle ground, they need to make a choice on how they live out their faith. And Laodicea, and the town that it was, knew what it was to be neither hot or cold.
Laodicea was halfway between Colossae (famous for their cool refreshing springs) and the hot springs of Hierapolis. Now, I have preached on this, more than once. The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary does a great (and pictoral!) job of laying this out. This past Thursday, I had the incredible privilege of seeing the warm springs of Hierapolis and getting an overwhelming sense of what God was saying to Laodicea.
We took a bus from Selcuk, just outside Ephesus, Turkey, beginning around 9am. On the bus, we met a wonderful couple from Calgary, Dave and LoriLynn, and their friends Eric and Erna who warmly welcomed us into their friendship for the day. Carol and I remarked about that if we lived in the same town, we would certainly be friends. Dave and LoriLynn told us about their faith and their church and their desire to know God at a deeper level. Since I was just finishing a book by a Calgary CRC church-planter, I recommended his church and book to them. You see, Dave and LoriLynn are photographers, and one of the things VanSloten does well is connect with people who are trying to connect with God on any level, particularly through arts and culture. As I listened to Dave talk about light in photography and how he and his photography friends could be mesmerized by a simply garbage can because of the way the light might be hitting it, I knew that Dave had allowed God to train his sight in a way that I hadn't even considered. So I turned it into a prayer, and asked God to show me something of what I wouldn't naturally see on my own.
After nearly three hours on the bus, we were in the incredible little town of Pamukkale, which is in fact, Hierapolis. Actually, its not so much the town that is incredible as much as what the town looks up at: the "Cotton Castle."
After some time in these shallower pools, we toured more of the ruins and then saw the hot baths - again all naturally occurring - that we could swim in for 20 Euro per person. We opted to watch, but when the opportunity to take part in a second locally occurring natural phenomenon -- Garra Rufa fish -- we didn't hold back. These fish, which only live in naturally occurring hot water springs in Turkey, are little suckers. They are naturally predisposed to eat the dead skin of people. For just 15 Euro for both Carol and I, we had the opportunity to put our feet in a large Garra Rufa tank while the fish took a ten-minute snack of all the dead skin on our feet and ankles.
(my legs aren't really that red, it's just the way the flash and water react, I'm sure Dave would have taken a better picture :))
When the fish are biting, biting your ankles that is, you have some time to think. God is incredible to have made both these phenomena - the Garra Rufa fish and the Cotton Castle - the micro and the macro, and put them together.
After our fish trip, we headed back to the cotton castle, this time to experience it more fully and hang out in some of the deeper pools. Here are some pictures, but believe me they don't do it justice.
All the traditional markers: a sense of preparation as park staff made certain we removed our shoes before entering; a sense of awe as people were mostly respectfully silent while others adventured; there were people of every trible, tongue, nation and languge present. All ages were represented. People were caught up in the beauty of the place. The was a reverential awe and nearly the only sound was that of laughter and excitement. There was even a moment of "is that allowed in here (church)" when a dog was running through the place.
Scripture, in Revelation, describes heaven as a place of awe and wonder. A place where every tribe, nation, people and language will be in wonder together. That there would be no temple because God himself would be there. And, that there would be a river running through it.
The pictures again don't do it justice, but if you could imagine this gush of hot water coming out of the top of the mountain and creating this, you'd have something of the picture. It was truly incredible.
I've had cool water from a spring before and it is refreshing, and also of God. But on this day, I came to understand a little more about what God was saying to the Laodiceans. They knew about cool springs (like Colossae) just like you and I do. And they lived in the shadow of the Cotton Castle white hills of Pamukkale, or Hierapolis or "Holy City". They knew that that the cold springs from below and the hot springs from above were both gifts from God. And they were simply being urged to make sure that -- hot or cold -- their deeds were lined up with what God was doing in the world.
Another great reminder for us today.
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